View full sizeU.S. Rep. Joseph Cao, left, has been endorsed by state Rep. Juan LaFonta.

LaFonta finished a distant second in the Aug. 28 Democratic primary,
garnering 21 percent of the vote compared with 60 percent for Richmond.
The third-place finisher, Eugene Green, who got 10 percent of the vote,
endorsed Richmond shortly after the primary.

In a long prepared statement, LaFonta insinuated that Richmond has
ethical issues he can't countenance, though he was not specific about
what they were.

"I stand against corruption because it is at the very root of our
recovery problem," LaFonta said in part. "I was elected to serve people
and stand against those who use their public offices to serve
themselves while the rest of us struggle to rebuild our lives.

"And most importantly, I was elected to represent a portion of this
congressional district with honor and integrity, and to speak out when
I knew dishonesty and corruption threatened to undermine what we have
worked so hard to achieve. I must speak out now."

Richmond downplayed the significance of the endorsement and questioned Lafonta's Democratic bona fides.

"Mr. LaFonta has already made the same allegations in the Democratic
primary where he was soundly rejected by the voters," he said in a
prepared statement. "Mr. LaFonta has never supported the President; we
always assumed he would endorse Cao because they campaigned as a team --
sharing supporters, advisors, and consultants."

Richmond didn't provide specifics.

Cao has sought to make Richmond's character the focus of the race,
highlighting the fact that Richmond has twice been cited by the state
Board of Ethics and noting that criminal charges were filed against the
head of a defunct nonprofit group to which Richmond steered legislative
earmarks.

LaFonta is the third Democratic elected official to back Cao.

On Tuesday, the GOP congressman picked up the backing of Assessor Erroll Williams and City Councilwoman Stacy Head.